


Into the Drift

by SociallyAwkwardFox



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Amnesia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Blood and Injury, F/F, Fighting, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 05:36:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15656829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SociallyAwkwardFox/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: The war against the Kaiju cost Tim more than he liked to think about. Getting a piece of his past back shouldn't have been so complicated. Life never ends up being as black and white as it should be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is complete. I'll be posting the last part of it to my Tumblr on Tuesday, then I'll post the second chapter on here!

_They slammed their hands down hard on top of the Kaiju’s head to keep it from wrapping around their legs, then brought their knee up to knock it off balance. Water exploded into the air as the Kaiju fell back from the force of their heavy blows. They knew better than to start celebrating before they had confirmation of a kill from headquarters. When the water to their left began to stir, they turned the Jaeger to face it at the same time they pulled out the electric bo staff attached to their hip._

_Before it could get too far out of the water, they got a hit on the Kaiju’s side that caused a screech to erupt from the creature. It launched itself at them with a fury they were all too familiar with, which meant they were prepared to counter the attack. They moved out of the way just in time for the Kaiju to jump past them, then jammed the bo staff hard into one of the vulnerable spots on its body. Electricity coursed through it, causing it’s back to arch backwards and giving them the perfect opportunity to grab its jaws. The Kaiju attempted to close its mouth, but their grip was too strong, and they were able to force its jaws wider and wider, until something gave._

_The dead body of the Kaiju crashed into the stormy water and began to sink down into the depths of the ocean. Fluorescent blood swirled in the water surrounding them, sending a feeling of satisfaction and relief through them. They plunged their hand into the water to retrieve the bo staff they’d dropped in favor of unhinging the Kaiju’s jaw._

_With their job over, Tim turned to look at his partner and sent him a tired smile. “Not bad. Although, I do have a few pointers for you.”_

_“Hard to imagine you’ve got any pointers for all this perfection.”_

_“You’re so-”_

_“Red Hood, we’ve got readings of an incoming Kaiju.”_

_“Where?”_

_“Give us a second.”_

_“We’re sitting ducks here. We need a location now!”_

_“One more second.”_

_“We don’t-”_

_The sound of tearing metal barely registered over the pain surging through his arm and the rush of concern flowing through their bond. Another rip sent a shower of water on them as their cockpit became exposed to the rain and Kaiju bearing down on them. Despite the pain in his arm, he struggled to follow his partner’s direction and reach out to rip the Kaiju off._

_“Right a little more.”_

_A pained scream tore from his throat as he pushed his body to the limit to keep up with his partner’s movement, but something out of the corner of his eye pulled his attention to the side. “Jay, lo-”_

* * *

 

Sweat dripped down his back and from his forehead to the sheets crumpled up at his waist as the echoes of his screaming died down. His chest heaved as he struggled to return his breathing to normal and let the adrenaline ebb, so his heartbeat could slow. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, he rolled out of bed and quietly padded out of his sleeping quarters.

It was far from the first night he’d woken up from a nightmare covered in sweat, his throat constricted, and heart racing furiously. In fact, that particular nightmare came to him at least once a week and always left him a mess afterwards. Despite the fact two and a half years had passed, he thought about that night regularly-either because something triggered his memory of that night or he let his mind drift on its own. It was such a common occurrence that everyone in the compound knew to avoid him when he got a certain look about him.

Letting out a heavy sigh, he quickly climbed to his usual safe spot and found someone else already sitting calmly with their legs crossed. She shifted enough to provide him enough space to do the same, then went back to staring out at the Jaeger hanger. A pang in his chest at the sight of a familiar Jaeger had him turning his head to avoid any other memories flooding back to his distressed mind.

“Nightmare?”

“What else?”

Cass hummed lowly, then turned to look at him. “He’d be devastated to see you like this.”

“I know, but it’s not like I can stop it. We were torn apart while Drifting. Stuff isn’t right anymore. I constantly have this piece missing and my mind doesn’t let me forget it. There’s nothing I can do about it. All the therapy in the world hasn’t helped and I could’ve told them from the beginning there was no way I’d ever be Drift Compatible with another pilot. No one else could fill that hole, but they were determined to try.”

“Bruce would’ve kept them from doing it if you told him that.”

“And everyone else? They would’ve been furious to hear one of the best pilots in the program decided not to try again because they lost their partner. It wouldn’t have mattered what I said. People have done it before, so they wouldn’t have understood.”

“I know.” Out of everyone in the compound, Cass was the only one that truly understood the pain he felt because she had lost someone dear to her too that day. “How have the panic attacks been?”

“Fewer and farther between. Being in charge of training the new recruits has helped. It gives my mind something to focus on that isn’t that missing part of me. Nights are still horrible. I’ve been spending more time in the lab with Babs and Pamela once I’m done with my shift for the day. They give me something to take my mind off things, but even they need sleep.”

“Jay would be proud to hear of the progress you’re making.”

“When I tell him about my day, that’s what I normally imagine. He’d get that stupid look on his face and ruffle my hair because he knew that would piss me off. He loved to get under my skin like that.”

A snort from Cass had him smiling before the words even came out of her mouth. “He always enjoyed talking about how gorgeous you look when you’re mad. One of his favorite topics. It was annoying.”

“I can imagine, but he meant it. Every fucking word. He always meant it.”

“Yes, he did.”

“We’ll see him again one day. When we’re done doing our part in this war, we’ll see him again and the first thing out his mouth will be something utterly ridiculous.”

“We will.”

* * *

 

Metal clanged against metal and people’s voices bounced around the half-finished wall, making it difficult to pick out any one voice. Jason didn’t mind the noise of working construction, at least he didn’t anymore. When he’d first gotten back on his feet, the noise caused tremendous headaches that would leave him on the floor balled up in pain. Overtime, he’d grown used to it and even found comfort in the familiarity of it while he worked. It kept him grounded and from drifting off into his own head.

“Halt!” Immediately, Jason pulled back from his work and looked down at the foreman standing where everyone could see him with a man by his side. “I’m looking for Jason Todd. Come down here.”

Curiously, Jason attached his equipment to the belt wrapped around his waist, then propelled down the wall. His boots crunched against the fallen debris and bits of scrap, until he came to a stop in front of the two men. Up close, the details of the man’s uniform became clear as did the scar running along the side of his neck before disappearing under his uniform. He stood stiffly with his hands clasped behind his back and his sharp eyes assessing Jason.

“So, who did I piss off this time?”

The corners of the man’s mouth quirked up the slightest bit, then he cleared his throat. “I’ve been looking for you for a while. You were difficult to track down.”

“Am I supposed to know you?”

“I know you don’t remember me, but I still plan to offer you the same thing I did all those years ago.”

“And what would that be?”

“We need more pilots and you were one of the best. This war needs people willing to fight. If you come with me, I can give you what you need to make that possible.”

“Are you trying to tell me I was a Jaeger pilot? That doesn’t seem possible. I work construction. I don’t pilot giant robot suits.”

“You don’t remember piloting a giant robot suit.” The man shifted to put more of his weight on his right leg, but the pain his leg must have been causing him didn’t show on his face. “Let me start over. I’m Marshal Bruce Wayne. I run a facility out of Gotham and we’re in need of Jaeger pilots. You might not remember it, but I do. You were one of the best and we need the best if we’re going to win this war.”

“That was a very inspirational speech, but I think you’re asking the wrong person.”

“I know exactly who I’m asking. I’m not just offering a chance to pilot a Jaeger. I’m offering you a chance to get some of your memories back. I can’t guarantee it, but you’ve got a better chance of triggering something if you come with me.”

“There’s no guarantee I’m going to be the great pilot you say I used to be.”

“Whatever the case may be, I won’t force you to stay should you decide you would like to leave. I want you to come home, Jason. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to, but I’m going to keep offering until you tell me your decision.”

“You said doing this might trigger my memories.” Jason crossed his arms firmly over his chest and waited for the man to nod in confirmation. “Why is that? Obviously, we used to know each other, but why would coming with you trigger something. There’s more to it than you’re letting on and I want to know just what it is you’re not saying.”

“Most of the people that used to work with you are still working for me, including your sister.”

“I have a sister?”

“Yes, and… Well, there will be other people you used to know there. People you could ask about your past.”

“What if I don’t want that? I’ve built a life for myself here. Working on the wall is important.”

“Then you say no. Are you going to do that?”

Despite the question, Jason had the feeling the Marshal already knew exactly what his answer would be before he even said anything. “No. I’ll come with you, but don’t expect me to fulfil whatever role I used to have. I’m probably not the man I used to be.”

“There’s no way to know, until you try. Pack your things, Jason. We leave as soon as you’re ready.”

* * *

 

“What’s this all about?” Tim leaned back against the wall next to Cass and let his eyes roam over the chatter throng of people. “Someone mentioned Bruce would be back today, but it’s normally not this big of a deal. Did something happen?”

“No idea. Diana and Clark haven’t said anything concrete, but there are rumors circulating that he’s bringing back someone important.”

“All this excitement over a little gossip that may or may not be true? That seems a tad excessive.”

“It’s not every day there’s reason to get excited about something.”

“Fair enough.” The toe of his boot scraped against the ground and he tapped his finger against his other arm to some unknown beat. “How much longer until he’s expected to get here?”

“Any moment now.”

As if waiting for that exact phrase to leave her mouth, the sound of a helicopter approaching reached their ears. They watched in silence as it made its decent into the hanger, then touched down on the pad. As the blades slowly came to a stop, the doors of the helicopter opened, and two men hopped out of the vehicle. To his surprise, both men were familiar to Tim. One was obviously Bruce with his steadily greying hair getting pulled out of its slicked back style by the wind and the other he hadn’t seen in two and a half years.

His heart stopped for several seconds, then began to pound furiously against the inside of his chest. He looked exactly the way Tim remembered him, except for a scar starting at his temple and running back into his hair. With his hair shaved so close on the sides, he could tell just how far back the scar went causing his gut to twist at the thought of what must have happened him after he was pulled from their Jaeger. That night began to flash before his eyes, so he brought his hands up to press the heels of his hands against his eyes. He pushed harder than he knew he should’ve, but he couldn’t stop while the scene continued to play over and over like a movie.

A pair of gentle hands wrapped firmly around his wrists and pulled them away, using only enough force to remove them. He found Cass’s face swimming in front of his watering eyes as she continued to bring his hands away from his face. When she had them by his side, she brought hear hands up to carefully prod around his eyes and let out a little hum. She wiped away the tears he’d forced out, then took a step away from him, giving him a perfect view of Bruce and Jason.

No one seemed to have noticed his small lapse in control and for that he was thankful. They’d heard him screaming enough in the night and witnessed plenty of his panic attacks to know he often lost himself, but he preferred not to have the attention. Once again, his eyes returned to the two men standing before the group of people eagerly listening to whatever speech Bruce was feeding them. Suddenly, the fact Jason stood alive and well in the same room hit him hard.

Before Cass could stop him, he weaved his way through the mass of people with a little shoving along the way to create space for himself. He ended up coming out slightly to the left of where they stood, catching Bruce’s eye as he pushed out of the group. Whatever speech he’d been giving came to an abrupt halt as he turned his complete attention to Tim, but he wasn’t the one Tim cared about at that moment. The one he cared about was looking at Bruce in confusion, then following his gaze to where Tim stood.

Seeing his blue-green eyes again was enough to get his feet moving and he found himself launching himself at him before he could fully comprehend what was happening. His body slammed into a familiar muscular chest and he wrapped his arms firmly around Jason’s neck. He gave a firm squeeze and buried his face against the side of Jason’s neck as he fought back the tears threatening to fall. A pair of arms tentatively wrapped around his waist to give their own reassuring squeeze, then fell away once again. That move pulled him back to himself and he dropped away from Jason-dread pooling in his stomach.

“Jason?”

A hand reach behind him to rub at the back of his neck-one of Jason’s nervous ticks. “I’m guessing we used to know each other. Bruce mentioned some of you here knew me before.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal. You probably-”

“I need to go.” He didn’t wait for a response before he bolted from the room with no particular destination in mind except for away.

* * *

 

Warm brown eyes watched his every move curiously and he couldn’t help but do the same in return. He could see the slight resemblance between the two of them-same mouth, nose, and dark hair. Some of her mannerism were similar to ones that he did and she seemed to be able to read him with ease. When he couldn’t take the silence between them any longer, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You’re my sister.”

“Yes.”

Jason dropped his arms, so he could run a hand through his hair and bunch the other into a fist on his thigh. “Were we close?”

“Yes.”

“How close?”

“You told me everything and I did the same.”

“Were you my partner?”

“No.” When she shook her hand, a strand of hair tucked behind her ear came loose and fell into her face. “We were compatible, but we were both compatible with other people and decided not to be partners.”

“Who’s your partner?”

“Steph. We’re in a relationship as well. The two of you got along for the most part.”

“When didn’t we?”

A smirk appeared on her face. “When I was mad at you and intentionally wanted to rub you the wrong way.”

“Sounds like she cares about you a lot. What about my partner?”

“No.”

“No what?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“Why not?”

“They wouldn’t want me to.” Something in her eyes wanted to make him both push for information and back off to avoid a fight. “If they want to tell you, they’ll do it themselves.”

“So, they’re alive?”

“Yes. We nearly lost them too, but we were luckily. Someone had the sense to drop another Jaeger after signs of a second one appeared, and he managed to stay alive long enough for them to get there.”

“That’s good. Bruce brought me back to pilot a Jaeger. Do you think he’ll talk to them about it?”

“Of course, but they’ll say no.”

“How are you so sure?”

Sadness drifted off her in waves, giving Jason a strong desire to wrap his arms around her. “When we lost you, it hurt a lot of people. People mourned you, but not the same way we did. No one was closer to you than the two of us. We were both devastated after we lost you and only the two of us understood how intense a loss your death was.”

“Are… Are they better now?”

“Better than they were after they lost you? Yes, but it changed them.”

“I want to know who they are.”

“I won’t tell you. They need to do that on their own and in their own time. Don’t push for the information or try to get someone else to tell you. It’ll hurt them more than you could understand.”

“Fine.” Jason tapped his fingers thoughtfully against his thigh, then suddenly stopped as a thought struck him. “Who was that guy from earlier? The one that ran off.”

“Tim.”

“Were we close?”

“Yes. There are others here you were close to as well.”

“Who?”

“Kori and Roy. They’re still out on a mission, but they’ll be happy to see you again. Dick and Damian. They’re Tim’s brothers and Jaeger pilots as well. There’s also Babs and Pamela. They were probably too busy to be there. I could go on, but you get the point.”

“Yeah.” To distract him from the confusion at hearing names he should know but didn’t, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Was their anything we used to do for fun?”

“There were a few things.”

“Well, I’ve been stuck on a helicopter for six hours bored out of my mind. How about we do something fun?”

“I know just the thing.”

* * *

 

The hand stroking through his hair paused for a split second to rub at his temples, then went back to running through his hair. He sniffled pathetically and pressed his face firmer against the thigh he’d been using as a pillow for what had to be several hours now. As a fresh batch of tears slipped from his eyes, he curled his legs tighter into his chest and curled his arm around them. His breathing sounded uneven and weak to his own ears, but he lost control of his body long ago and he hadn’t been able to get it back. All he could do was cry and curl tighter into himself in some sorry attempt to protect himself from something that couldn’t physically hurt him.

“Tim, you have to keep breathing.” The hand that had been in his hair moved to his back, then trailed along the arm wrapped around his legs and attempted to loosen his hold. “You’ve got to ease up or you’ll pass out. You’ve been doing so good, Tim. Ease up for me a little.”

Despite feeling completely disconnected from his body, he somehow managed to release his legs and let them fall away from his chest. He took a stuttering breath in as a hand moved to lie flat against his chest and began to make calming circles. The tears slowly came to a stop and his legs stretched back out, causing his hip to twinge painfully. Tentatively, he flexed his finger to test his control, then placed his palms flat on the ground and pushed up. Once upright, he let his body slump against Steph’s side with his legs tucked to the side and his head on her shoulder.

“Feeling better?”

“I thought he was dead. For so long, I thought he… And he was just standing there. He doesn’t remember a thing.”

“But he’s alive and that’s what matters. Maybe, he’ll remember one day, but even if he doesn’t, you can still get to know him again. Jason loved everything about you. It doesn’t matter whether he remembers you, he’ll fall in love with you all over again because you’re you.”

“I’m not. I’m not that same person, just like he isn’t.”

“Do you remember that time the two of you took down a Kaiju, but it got a lucky hit in at the end? You were in the hospital for weeks and Jay spent almost all of that time by your side. You were cranky and frustrated and annoying, but he stood by you. Tim, the two of you were always the couple that stood by each other no matter what. It didn’t matter if you were pissed at each other, you always had each other’s back. It might not happen right away, but you’ll be the same team you used to be again.”

“I can’t.” He sniffled pathetically and brought a hand up to wipe the snot off his face. “I can’t go back in, not again. The last time… The last time it went horribly wrong and I can’t risk hurting him.”

“Bruce will expect-”

“Fuck Bruce! Not again. I can’t go through that again and I can’t risk him. Why did he have to bring him back for this? I thought I watched him die once and spent years mourning him. I can’t do it again. It would destroy me. I can’t, Steph.”

“He’s always been a fighter. This is where he belongs. You can’t ask him to be someone he’s not, just neither like he nor Bruce can’t ask you to do what you know you can’t. There’s one thing to consider. If he does this, do you really want to trust someone else to be his co-pilot?”

“No, but I can’t go back in. I’ll chase the rabbit. I know it.”

“Well, you’re the one in charge of the recruits. Find him the second-best option.”

Tim nodded his head against her shoulder. “I can do that.”

* * *

 

Walking into the training room to find a bunch of unfamiliar faces and one familiar, ramped up the uncertainty he’d already been feeling. Bruce had thoroughly explained to him how he would determine who he might be Drift Compatible with but had failed to mention a certain blue-eyed man would be helping out. He ran a hand nervously through his hair as he stepped further into the room, until he came to a stop by the training mat. The line of recruits all turned their heads to look at him, then returned their attention back to Tim.

“Did Bruce tell you what we’ll be doing today?”

“Yes.”

“Here.” Tim held a staff out to him and waited patiently with his arm outstretched for Jason to step forward to take it from him. “I’ve already picked out the first recruit that will go up against you. From there, I’ll assess your style and mentality to determine who might fit best. Hopefully, we’ll be able to determine who your best match will be without much trouble. Are you ready?”

“Bring it on.”

“Renee, you’re up first.”

As the brunette went to collect her own staff, Jason played experimentally with the one in his hands and found it surprisingly easy to handle. Something about it felt incredibly familiar, but he couldn’t say why that was and doubted thinking about it would help. After taking a calming breath, he moved his feet into a neutral position and focused on his opponent. From the way she carried herself, it was obvious she was familiar and confident with the staff held in her hands.

For a few seconds, they simply watched one another with calculating eyes, then Renee made the first move. The staff came rushing right for his head and he easily ducked out of the way in time to avoid the hit. In retaliation, he aimed a strike at her ribs that she easily deflected and did the same in return hoping to catch him off guard. Instead of blocking, he rolled out of the way to end up on her exposed left side and slammed his staff into her side. While it knocked her off balance, it wasn’t enough to get her to the mat, so she quickly got her footing again and got a hit in on his shoulder. It ached from the hit, but he didn’t let that stop him from slamming his staff hard into the center of her chest. This time she hit the mat.

“That’s enough.”

Jason rested his staff against his shoulder as he turned to look at Tim. “Who’s up next?”

“Jean-Paul.”

“Any advice for me?”

“Don’t underestimate your opponent or pull your hits. You shouldn’t have taken that hit.”

“I’m just getting warmed up, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

A little smirk appeared on Tim’s face that tugged on something in the back of Jason’s head that he wanted nothing more than to explore. “Whatever you say, but don’t get cocky. You’ll end up on the mat next if you do.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.”

Something flickered across Tim’s face, then immediately disappeared and his face became oddly blank. “Focus on the fight. We don’t have all day.”

“Let’s do this.”

* * *

 

“You could take them all down three moves sooner.”

“What?” Jason pushed his sweaty hair off his forehead as he turned to look at Tim. “You think you can do better?”

“Easily.”

“Then come here.”

“We don’t have time for that. Next up is-”

“No. I want to fight you. You can’t just talk that way and not show me what you’ve got.”

With a huff, Tim crossed his arms over his chest and ignored the clipboard digging uncomfortably in his side. “There will be time for that later.”

“Are you scared?”

The cocky smile on Jason’s face had Tim moving before he could think better of it-Jason always knew the best ways to get under his skin. His smile slowly transformed into a genuine one as he watched Tim remove the staff from his back and take his place across from him. Unlike all the other bouts, Jason bowed, and Tim quickly did the same. It felt like picking up an old routine as he waited patiently for Jason to make the first move, like he always did.

Their staffs met in the middle as Tim anticipated Jason’s move and quickly brought his own staff up to meet his. A leg kicked out at his exposed knee, but Tim knew to expect a move like that after stopping his first attempt. Tim quickly spun around Jason to get to his back and smacked his staff hard against Jason’s side. A chuckle slipped from his lips at the disgruntled look Jason sent him upon turning around.

“One.”

“You’re a sneaky one.”

“No. You just have trouble keeping up.”

“Are you calling me old?”

“If the shoe fits.”

Jason chuckled at his response, then dropped his stance into a much more relaxed posture. “I think we’re done here.”

“Giving up already?”

“More like made up my mind finally.”

“No.” His voice cut through the space between them like a shard of ice. “Absolutely not.”

“Bruce told me to pick the person I felt the strongest attachment to and that’s you.”

“Do you want to know what happened the last time I did a Drift Compatibility test? It was all my fault. I followed the rabbit. I knew it would probably happen, but people wanted me out there again. It nearly cost someone else their life. Luckily, they came out fine. I ended up in the infirmary for several weeks and I’ve been training new recruits since. It’s where I belong. Trust me. I’m the last person you want to Drift with.”

“No, you’re the only person I want to Drift with.”

“Well, get that idea out of your head and start thinking about who you think you might have Drift Compatibility with. They need to get Red Hood back out there.”

A hand landed on his shoulder that he immediately shrugged off as he glared up at Jason. “You’re hiding something from me. All of you are hiding something from me and I know it has something to do with this. Now, you don’t have to tell me, but I know you’re the one I’m Drift Compatible with and I’m not going to give up on this.”

“There’s no way I’m going in there, not again. Last thing I need is another burst vessel and long hospital stay and risking someone else’s life in the process of that happening. Try someone else. There are plenty of pilots that would love to try.”

“None of them will work.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Except I do! I don’t know how, but I do! You’re it. It can’t hurt to try.”

“But it can. It really, really can. My last Drift Compatibility test nearly killed me. It can very much hurt to try.”

“How are you sure this wouldn’t work?” Jason motioned between the two of them. “There’s something here. You have to admit that.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not doing it. End of story. I’m sure you can handle the rest of this by yourself.”

* * *

 

While he felt slightly bad for encroaching on Tim’s space, the fact one of his close friends told him where to find him made him feel a little better about what he was about to do. He made sure to keep his footsteps completely silent as he moved through the large storage room to a ladder that would take him to Tim’s hiding place. Of course, it was entirely possible that Tim would see him coming and manage to slip out before Jason could notice, but he had to hope. Going quietly up the ladder proved to be much trickier than crossing the room and several loud squeaks had him whipping his head up to check for movement.

When he finally reached the top, he found Tim sitting as still as a statue with his legs tucked under him and his back perfectly straight. For a second he hesitated, then pushed on because he finally had the one person that could give him answers. He made no effort to hide the sound of his feet as he approached, which finally got Tim’s attention. The vulnerability showing on Tim’s face made Jason pause before he took a seat next to the man.

“What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk alone and look at that. We’re alone together.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

Instead of arguing, Jason dropped down next to him with a little difficulty because of the small space. “Yes, there is. You know there is.”

“What good would come of it?”

“I want the truth. I’m not a moron, Tim.”

“You don’t need to tell me something I already know.”

“So, talk to me. Everything points to you. The way people talk, the way they won’t, the way we are together. No one else will tell me anything because you need to do it.”

“I don’t want to.”

“How am I supposed to help if I don’t remember anything?”

“It’s better you don’t.”

“That’s not your decision to make.”

“You wouldn’t understand! It’s-” A strangling wheeze erupted from Tim as he turned away from Jason with his hand pressed against his chest. He continued to breath harshly while Jason sat helplessly across from him not sure what to do, then turned to look at Jason once his breath evened out with tear stains on his face. “It was a routine mission. We took it out without a problem, but a second one showed up out of nowhere. You were… You were ripped from the hull and I-I… Whenever I close my eyes, I see it and I feel it. You were there one second and the next you were just gone. Losing you ripped a part of me out. It hurt more than you can understand.”

“Because we were more than co-pilots.”

“We were partners in everything. It didn’t matter what we did. You were always there for me. I could count on you for anything. When I lost you, it destroyed me. Bruce thought getting back into a Jaeger would help, but it didn’t because I lost myself when I lost you.”

“I understand that you don’t want to risk your life again, but I’m back and I still feel it. Whatever connection that exists between us is still there.”

“You could die. I just got you back.”

Slowly, Jason reached out to wipe the tears off Tim’s face, then left his hands there when he was done. “That is our Jaeger. We pilot it. We kick monster ass in it. The two of us.”

“That doesn’t change-”

“I’ll take the risk with you because it’s you. I might not remember anything, but I trust my instincts and they tell me we’re meant to do this together. There’s no one else I trust by my side. Can’t we try?”

“Once. We can try once.”

* * *

 

Being inside the cockpit of the Red Hood again had Tim’s pulse racing furiously and his palms sweating as he fought back the panic attempting to take him over. He’d spent most of the night tossing and turning in his sleep because of a combination of nerves and not wanting to make things worse by dreaming. Eventually, he’d fallen into a fitful sleep and woke up feeling like he hadn’t slept at all. He only hoped that his lack of proper sleep wouldn’t cause Jason any harm.

“You look stiff.”

After taking a calming breath, Tim turned to face Jason and felt a tug at how natural he looked in his pilot suit. “It was a rough night.”

“I should’ve stayed with you.”

“I’m not sure if that would’ve helped.”

“Does talking help?”

“Getting this over with would help.”

“You can still back out. I won’t stop you.” As he spoke, Jason moved to take his place on the right side of the cockpit without Tim having to ask. “What’s that look for?”

“You picked the right side.”

“Aren’t you left handed?”

“How did you…”

“You write and hold utensils with your left hand.”

“Have you been watching me eat?”

A hint of a blush appeared on Jason’s cheeks before he could turn his head away. “It’s not that I’m watching you eat. I’m just…”

“Staring?”

“Not in a creepy way.”

“Instead of staring, you could’ve come talk to me.”

“Until yesterday, you were avoiding me any chance you could get. If I would’ve sat down next to you, I’m sure you would’ve found a way to get a transfer.”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.” Tim finally moved to take his spot on the left side of the cockpit and clicked his feet into place. “Plus, Bruce would never let me transfer. I’m one of the best he has and I’m his son.”

“Wait. You’re Bruce’s kid?”

“When the Kaiju’s first attacked my home, the city was devastated. Most people lost their lives. I had been walking home from school when the attack happened. I was young and alone and terrified. Bruce found me, brought me to the survivors, and when my parents weren’t found, he took me in as his own. I’m grateful to him and what he’s done for me.”

“And Bruce likes me?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

Amusingly, Jason checked to make sure no one was around to overhear him, then turned his attention back to Tim. “You’re his kid and we were…”

“Together? Bruce doesn’t control me. He’s protective and it took a lot of arguing before he let me become a pilot, but he’s never controlled me. You made me happy, so he liked you. He also liked you because you never kissed his ass. Of course, he always acted like he hated it, but he actually enjoyed it.”

“How does he feel about what we’re about to do?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him about it. He won’t stop it from happening, but I’m sure he’ll be watching.”

“Do you-”

The sound of the Red Hood firing up followed by the communications system coming online cut Jason off. A screen in front of them burst to life with information on the Red Hood and a bunch of other data they wouldn’t need for this test run. It was almost overwhelming to see all the new improvements they made to the Red Hood while it was in storage. Something brushing against his shoulder distracted him from the thoughts swirling around his head and acted as an anchor. He turned to face Jason, so he could send him a grateful smile.

“Red Hood is reading for testing. Are the pilots ready?”

“Ready.”

* * *

 

_Out of the darkness, the familiar sound of screaming and roaring and destruction gave him some idea of what was going on. He could easily imagine the large Kaiju tearing through the city and the people trying their best to get out of its path. The sound of a Jaeger touching down with a mechanical whirling and heavy thud filtered through the chaos. Fighting followed by the sound of the Kaiju letting out a death shriek told him the battle was over, but things remained oddly blank._

_Without warning, an entire ruined city appeared around him as if it had been there all along. Curiously, he began to walk through the street with his eyes searching for the reason he suddenly found himself somewhere he didn’t recognize. Debris crunched underneath the soles of his boots that he could hear now the terrifying silence that always followed a battle filled the air. He glanced down each alleyway he passed and glanced under cars on the off chance he found someone hiding beneath one._

_The silence persisted for quite some time, until he thought he heard someone crying and followed the sound. It led him to a side street a little further down the road that he turned onto without hesitation. At the sight of a child kneeling on the ground with their hands pressed over their ears, he quickened his pace. He dropped to his knees next to them and placed a comforting hand on their back to help calm them down. Their loud sobs quieted to nothing more than small whimpers, then blue eyes he’d recognize anywhere looked up at him._

_“Tim?”_

_“Who are you?”_

_The innocent question made Jason realize exactly what was going on. “Tim, you’ve got to snap out of it. None of this is real. We’re in the Red Hood right now on the base. We’re not in any danger.”_

_“I want my papa!”_

_“Focus on me, Tim. You know who I am. None of that stuff is real, but I am. I’m the only thing here that’s real. Trust me.”_

_“I want my papa! You’re not… Not…” A harsh sob ripped from Tim’s throat as more tears bubbled up in his eyes and threatened to spill over. “Where’s my papa?”_

_“Bruce is watching us right now. He’s out in the real world watching this. You’ve got to snap out of this if you want to get back to him. I know you can do it, Tim.”_

_“Ja… Jason?”_

_“Tim! Thank-”_

_The world around him abruptly changed to one he actually recognized, but he never remembered it looking like this. He could only assume this was the night a Kaiju ripped him out of the Red Hood and left him with no memory of what happened. A huge tear in the hull of the Red Hood told him exactly how the Kaiju got in and pulled him out of the Jaeger. He reframed from surveying further in favor of returning his attention to where Tim knelt on the cockpit floor._

_To Jason’s relief, he no longer looked like the child version of himself he’d found sobbing in the alley for his father. The helmet that should be on his head rested several feet away from him like it’d been thrown across the cockpit. His head was buried in his hands and his entire body shook so violently Jason could see it from where he stood. He moved to drop back down next to Tim, then returned his hand to his back with just enough pressure to act as a solid anchor for Tim to latch onto._

_“Open your eyes.”_

_“What if you’re not real? What if I still haven’t woken up from the last time I tried to do this and that’s why you suddenly came back? I wanted you to come back to me.”_

_“I’m back.”_

_“How do I know it’s real?”_

_Since he didn’t have a good answer, Jason shrugged his shoulders in response. “I don’t know. Has everything up until now felt real?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Then this is what isn’t real. Focus on how we got here and pull us out. This is all in your head. If we stay here, then we’ll be lost. Come back to me, like I came back to you. Bring us back.”_

_“We were testing the Red Hood. I followed the rabbit again.”_

_“It’s okay, Tim. You know what’s going on now. You can lead us back out. I’ll be right beside you.”_

* * *

 

His breathing came out in heavy pants as the world around him slowly cleared, until he once again saw inside of the Red Hood. Surprisingly, he still stood at his station with the screen in front of him signalling the Drift had synchronized successfully. After several blinks, he turned to look at Jason as the gravity of what they just accomplished slowly settled in. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face that was so wide his cheeks hurt.

“We did it.”

“Yeah, we did.” Since his eyes had been focused on his display screen, Jason had to turn to look at Tim to share in the excitement-only for a look of horror to appear when he did so. “You’re bleeding. Shit, you’re bleeding!”

Curiously, Tim brought his hand up to touch underneath his nose, then pulled his hand away to find bright red staining the white. Now that he knew blood dripped from his nose, the light-headedness he must’ve been ignoring or masked by the high caused him to sway dangerously. A sharp pain hit him hard in the head, causing his vision to go completely white and his heart to skip a beat. He brought his hands up to his head and squeezed so hard he knew he’d be leaving bruises if it weren’t for the helmet.

“Shut it down! Shut it down now!” The release of his boots from the brackets took away the last thing keeping him up, so he hit the ground of the hull hard. “Tim, stay with me.”

Hands pulled him up into a suit clad chest that provided support for his head and helped return his equilibrium. He took several deep breaths to make sure he wouldn’t screw everything up, then opened his eyes. Jason now loomed over him sans helmet with obvious concern filling his eyes as he waited for something to happen. His entire body moved as he let out a relieved sigh and he brought up a hand to wipe away the blood still dripping from his nose.

“Thank goodness. How are you feeling?”

“A little dizzy, but that’s it.”

“We should still get you checked out, just to make sure there’s not something worse than a nose bleed going on with you.”

“Then we try again.”

“I don’t think so.” Bruce’s gruff voice directed both their attention to where he stood just outside the hull of the Red Hood. “We’ve seen more than enough. We’ll test Jason with one of his other compatibility partners.”

“What? Why the hell would we do that? It worked!”

“We can’t risk something like that happening in the field.”

“It won’t happen again. The connection is there. It’s back.”

“Are you sure about this, Tim?”

Despite the dizziness, he used Jason’s body to help himself to his feet-ignoring the fact Jason quickly stood up with him to save him from falling over. “Try to stop me.”

“Take him to the infirmary. We’ll sort all this out later.”

“Tomorrow. We try again tomorrow.”

“We’ll-”

“The time for talking is over. Bigger and badder Kaijus are coming from the Breach at a greater frequency. Waiting isn’t an option. Tomorrow we try again.”

“Jason, take him to infirmary. Someone prep the Red Hood for another test run tomorrow.” A finger pointed at Tim told him he’d be in for quite the talk when Bruce had the time. “And we will be discussing this later. I’ll stop by the infirmary when I have the chance. Go!”

* * *

 

“After a look at his scans, we can safely say he’ll be perfectly fine with a little rest. The blood came from a burst vessel in his nose, not one on the brain. There’s no risk of swelling or need for surgery.” The doctor brought her eyes up from her notes to look at three watching her. “We do recommend at least a week of bedrest before going back to work. It’ll prevent any other injury due to stress manifesting and give a chance for the one in your nose to heal properly.”

Before Tim could say anything, Bruce stepped up to give the doctor an appreciative handshake. “Thank you. He’ll be kept on bedrest as recommended.”

“You’re welcome, Marshal. I’ll take my leave. Feel free to bring any questions you might have directly to me.”

Once the doctor left the room, the Marshal moved to lock the door, then returned to his spot next to Tim’s bedside. His hands were clasped tight enough behind his back that Jason could see the swell of his upper arm muscles even with the uniform on. All his attention was focused on Tim, who rested on his infirmary bed with pillows to keep his upper body up. It almost felt like he was intruding on a private family moment, but he had no plans to leave Tim’s side anytime soon.

“When you are working, you are a Ranger under my command. You do not argue with me. I am the one that makes the decisions.”

“Then treat me like the other Rangers and we won’t have a problem.”

“I treat you the way I best see fit.”

A disbelieving huff fell from Tim’s lips as he pushed himself up a little straighter. “You treat me like I’m still a child! I understand that I’ll always be your son and you want to protect me, but you’re keeping me from doing what’s best for me. Trust me to know my limits.”

“I do trust you.”

“Then let me do this. Being a Jaeger pilot is what I do best and now Jason’s back I… I can do it again. I know I can, just allow me the chance.”

“If you’re sure that’s what you want.”

“I’m positive.”

“The two of you will not go out into the field, until you’ve stabilized the neural handshake between the two of you. We can’t risk two of our best pilots or the lives of others if something goes wrong in the field. You’ll also continue to receive check-ups after each session to be sure there’s no permanent damage occurring, even when you’re back in the field. If the doctor says you need rest, then you’ll take a break for however long they recommend. If the doctor says you’re done, then that’s it.”

“That’s fair.”

“In a week, the two of you will be hooked up again. If I catch wind that you’re disobeying the doctor’s orders, then we’ll push the next test back.”

“Can I return to my room?”

“As long as you stay on bedrest and the doctor gives you approval, I’ll allow it.” To Jason’s surprise, Bruce moved his attention from Tim to him. “Make sure he rests like he’s supposed to and let me know if he doesn’t.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“We both know it is. You’ll either forget or get restless. Having a distraction is for the best. I can assign a cadet to keep an eye on you-”

“Don’t you dare. I’ll stick with Jason. Now, get back to work. I’m in safe hands.”

“I’ll visit when I have the chance. Get some rest.”

* * *

 

The shadow looming over him finally disappeared once he settled into his bed with his sleep pants on and a blanket pulled up to his chest. He watched in amusement as Jason tired not to make it obvious he was curiously looking around his room. Every few seconds, his eyes would flick back to where Tim rested, then trail back to where he left off. While he didn’t mind Jason looking around the room, it was odd to have him so curious about a room he used to live in.

“Can you wait for me to be asleep to poke around?”

Jason visibly flinched, then went to kneel next to the bed with a sheepish expression on his face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine. I really don’t mind. There’s nothing in here I’m ashamed of or don’t want you to see. It’s just strange for you to look so… lost in here.”

“We used to…”

“Share? Live together? Whatever you want to call it. It was our room.”

“You didn’t switch after?”

“No.” Unthinkingly, his eyes drifted over to the set of drawers he shoved all of Jason’s things into. “A lot of things changed. It was nice to come back to somewhere familiar and safe.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Putting you through all that.”

“Unless you did it on purpose, there’s no reason to apologize. It’s not like you wanted the Kaiju to rip you out of the Hood or to lose your memory. Things happen, and it sucks, but you’re back now.”

A rough hand gently turned his face, until he was looking Jason directly in the eyes. “I want to remember. More than anything, I want to remember. Sometimes it’s like I have no idea who you are and others I-it’s almost like… like the feelings are there. It’s almost as if I can remember how it felt to be with you and around you. I wish I could remember.”

“I want you to remember, but I’ll take you being alive over what I thought happened.”

“Is being around me hard for you?”

“Sometimes. I’ll expect you to say something or make a certain joke and it throws me off when you don’t, but I’ll get used to it. You’re still you. You’re still the Jason I remember.”

“How do you remember me?”

“Stubborn and fierce and loyal. You were the only one that could keep me from pushing myself too hard and I’d help you to calm down when you’d get a little heated. You were kind to people that needed it and weren’t afraid to put people in their place when they needed it. That’s why Bruce liked you so much. You didn’t let your position keep you from doing what was right. Even if it could get you kicked out of the program, you’d get into fights or argue with a superior. Of course, Bruce always had to reprimand you for it.”

“You’re beautiful when you’re happy.”

Tim blinked in surprise at the casual comment that slipped from Jason’s lips so thoughtlessly. He didn’t seem aware of the slip and grew steadily more concerned the longer Tim remained silent. After almost a minute of silent staring, Jason moved from his kneeling position to perching on the edge of the bed with his hands hovering uncertainly in the air between them. His mouth opened for a second, then snapped shut as he moved a little closer with his eyebrows wrinkled together.

“Tim, are you okay? Do I need to get the doctor?”

“No. It’s just been a while since you’ve called me beautiful.”

Realization dawned on Jason’s face, but he didn’t scramble back in embarrassment like most people would-he remained where he was. “How often did I call you beautiful?”

“Every morning. It was the first thing you would say to me. Good morning, beautiful. You started doing it because I’m grouchy in the morning and wanted to find a way to make my mornings a little better.”

“Waking up next to me wasn’t enough to brighten your morning?”

“Well, you still have the ego. That’s comforting.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything. I’m not going to keep your past from you.” Even though he wasn’t sure how it would be taken, Tim laced their hands together and gripped tightly. “It might take me a bit to get it all out depending on what you ask, but I’ll answer whatever questions you have.”

“How did we get together?”

“Are you sure you want to know? It might be better that you don’t remember.”

“That’s concerning, but I still want to know.”

“I suppose I should start with the first time we met. You and your sister got transferred to this unit while you were both still cadets. It was your first day on the base and you were still learning your way around. At dinner, one of the asshole cadets tripped you up, you hit me, and I ended up with food all over me. You felt so bad for staining my uniform, you apologized for a good five minutes. That’s how we became friends.”

“And, how did we actually end up dating?”

Tim held back the laugh threatening to come out as the memory came back to him. “I’ll admit I’m not the best at telling when people are interested in me, so I had no idea you wanted to be more than friends. Your sister got tired of listening to you wax on about me and decided to take matters into her own hands. She told me about the crush you had on me, then demanded I do something about.”

“She really did that?”

“Cass wanted you to be happy and to not have to listen to you complain. So, I cornered you after training one day and asked if your sister was telling the truth. You went so red in the face I thought you were going to pass out from embarrassment. After you finally stammered out a yes, I asked you out on a date.”

“What was our first date?”

“When we both had a day off, we went to the city and had lunch at some place that wasn’t very good. It was perfect.”

“Can I kiss you?” His breath hitched in his throat as Jason stared intensely into his eyes and played with the fingers linked between his. “It’s probably not the best idea, but I really want to kiss you right now.”

“I-I don’t know. I want you to. I want to feel… It’s not a good idea.”

“Right. You should get some sleep.”

“Jay, please?”

“I don’t want to mess things up.”

When Jason moved to get off the bed, Tim let go of his hands, so he could fist Jason’s t-shirt in his hands. “Please, don’t leave. I don’t want to be alone. I want to sleep. I just want to sleep through the night for once. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me again.”

“Okay. Okay, Tim. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here the whole time.”

“Thanks, Jay.”

“No problem, beautiful.”

* * *

 

The small whimpers coming from Tim tugged painfully at Jason’s heart as he did his best to ease whatever bad dreams were destressing him. He ran one hand through slightly sweaty hair, while the other rubbed lazy circles between Tim’s shoulder blades. Despite his efforts, the whimpers continued to come from him and the grip his hands had on Jason tightened to a bruising hold. On a whim, he decided to slide down, so he could wrap Tim completely up in his arms and let out a sigh of relief when the sounds finally stopped.

When he tipped his head down to look at Tim, he was surprised to find two teary blue eyes staring at him. “Did I wake you up?”

“The nightmares did.”

“I thought this might help. Guess I tried too late.”

“It probably wouldn’t have helped.”

“Why is that?”

“Because we never sleep like this when I have nightmares.” Tim rolled onto his other side, then pulled Jason’s arms around his waist and tangled their legs together. “Now, rest your chin on top of my head and move our knees to a ninety-degree angle.”

“That’s really specific.”

“Being surrounded by you makes me feel safe.”

“I’m glad I can help.”

“You can leave if you have something else to do.”

“Why would I move when I’m super comfortable where I am?”

An adorable laugh shook Tim’s body, causing a smile to appear on Jason’s face. “Are you flirting?”

“Shouldn’t you know?”

“You’re terrible at flirting. I still can’t tell when you’re trying to flirt.”

“I didn’t think I was that bad.”

“It doesn’t matter.” The loud yawn that came from Tim made it obvious it wouldn’t be long before Tim fell asleep again. “I like your shitty flirting. It’s cute.”

“Does that mean I don’t need to worry about upping my flirt game?”

“You don’t have a flirt game. Let’s keep it that way. It keeps me from having to worry you’ll accidently make someone fall in love with you because you’re good looking and know the right thing to say.”

“You don’t think there are people that only like me for my look?”

“They shouldn’t. There’s more to love about you than your looks. You’re smart and funny and kind and loyal. If they can’t see that, then they’re just… stupid. You should be loved because you’re incredible, not because you’re hot.”

Jason buried his laughter in Tim’s hair, then let out a little sigh when he went back to resting his chin on his head. “That’s really nice of you to say, but I think the exhaustion is getting to you. Go to sleep, Tim. We can talk more about this when you’re not still half asleep.”

“Promise you’ll still be here.”

“There’s nowhere else I have to be, and I want nothing more than to be here. I’ll do a better job of protecting you this time. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“I know. You never let me down, Jay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos always greatly appreciated. You can find me on Tumblr ([SociallyAwkwardFoxWriter](http://sociallyawkwardfoxwriter.tumblr.com/)).


	2. Chapter 2

A knock on the door pulled his attention away from the game of cards Jason had been using as a distraction that Tim pretended to enjoy. “Come in.”

The door pushed open just enough for Stephanie to poke her head through the crack with a little grin on her face. “Guess who’s back.”

“I thought they didn’t get back for another week.”

“There’s been a significant decrease in Kaiju activity, so they were sent back early.”

“All of them?”

“Two stayed behind, but your brothers, Kon, Bart, Kori and Roy are all back.”

“Seriously?”

“You’re supposed to be on bedrest. Do you really think I’ll get you all excited if it weren’t true? See you in the docking bay.”

Stephanie winked at him as she disappeared from his doorway, letting the heavy door slam shut behind her. Before Jason could say anything, Tim hopped out of bed and pulled on the closest pair of shoes he could find. He then plucked Jason’s jacket off the chair he’d thrown over it earlier to cover up the fact he was wearing a shirt several sizes too big for him that’d been through the wringer. It wasn’t until he made it to the door, Jason finally caught up with him by slamming his palm on the door to keep Tim from opening it.

“Where do you think you’re going? You’re supposed to be on bedrest. They can come here.”

“If Bruce really expects me to wait to see them, he’s got another thing coming. I’ve only got two more days. I can handle a walk to the docking bay and back.”

“Don’t blame me if he decides to push our next test back because of this.”

“He won’t.” After letting out a heavy sigh, Jason dropped his hand to the handle and held the door open for Tim to go through first. “Thanks.”

“So, what were they doing?”

“There’s been an increase in activity around China. The Jaeger base in Hong Kong asked for reinforcements to prevent loss of Jaegers. We sent five to help out. They weren’t supposed to return until next week.”

“Who stayed behind?”

“Dinah, Helena, and Zinda who pilot the Birds of Prey were sent and another pair. I don’t remember who.”

“A group of three?”

Tim turned his head slightly to catch the look of curiosity clearly showing on Jason’s face. “I forgot you wouldn’t remember and you haven’t kept up with Jaeger pilot news. They used to split up a group of three when one of them had a high enough compatibility with someone else. Now, they realize having a trio with high compatibility means bigger Jaegers that can take more damage because they can share a larger neural load across the three of them.”

“What about us?”

“What about us?”

“How was our compatibility? It must have been high, but I feel like I'm missing something.”

“Our compatibility blew other connections out of the water. A strong connection is typically around 85%, but medium connections in the sixties can work in times of crisis. We started at 92% and worked our way up to 100% compatibility. That's never been done before. Even Diana, Bruce, and Clark plateaued in the lower nineties. It's why they made Red Hood for us.”

“We weren't always in the Hood?” A chuckled spilled from Tim’s lips at the little head tilt Jason did as he asked his question.

“No. We used to be in the Red Robin. When we hit 98% compatibility, they considered making a specialized Jaeger for the two of us. Hitting a 100% about a month later sealed the deal and they got to work on the Hood. That's why it was such a big deal when… when we went down. We were the best of the best.”

“Is that why the Hood hasn't gotten new pilots before now?”

“The way they did the neural handshake in the Hood is different than other Jaegers. It's tailored to us. That’s why they tried to use me to get it going again and haven’t tried it again since you got back. They considered scraping it to make another, but Bruce somehow convinced them not to. I think he always suspected you weren’t dead. Otherwise, he would’ve let them. It was stupid of me not to put the pieces together sooner.”

“You were grieving.”

To stop the emotions from those memories from hitting him too hard, he bit his lip as a distraction and took in a long breath through his nose. “I’m not anymore. You’re back. There’s nothing to grieve.”

“You still remember-”

“Let’s hurry to the docking bay. I want to get there before they all get swarmed.”

* * *

 

“Tim!” A man with midnight black hair wrapped Tim in a tight hug that lifted him high enough off the ground his toes barely brushed the surface. “How have you been? Have you been eating enough? You feel skinner than normal.”

“You’re not even back five minutes and you’re already worry about me. I’m perfectly fine and I’m not any skinner than I was before you left. If anything, I’ve gained weight. I’ve been on bedrest for almost a week. It’s been horrible.”

“Why have you been on bedrest? Did one of the new cadets get a lucky hit on you?”

“No, it’s… Don’t worry about that right now. How was Hong Kong?”

“Same as last time, but with more Kaijus. Don’t think you’re going to distract me though. Why were you on bedrest?”

Instead of answering his brother’s question, Tim turned his attention to the person next to his brother who looked utterly bored. “Where’s my hug, Dami? Are you getting too old to hug your big brother?”

“Older, not bigger.”

“Good to see you too.”

“I did not say those words, so the use of-”

“Shut up and give me a hug already.” Despite his words, he didn’t wait for his other brother to pull him into a hug like the first had. Instead, he was the one to pull him into a tight embrace. “It’s been too relaxing without your sniping. It’s almost like I missed you.”

“I suppose I missed you as well. Now, tell Grayson why you were put on bedrest before he becomes annoying.”

“Say what you will, but you have Drift Compatibility with him.”

“Explain or I will force it out of you.”

After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Jason stepped out of the shadow he’d been watching the family reunion from. “It’s my fault. I convinced him to Drift with me and he ruptured a vessel in his nose. They put him on bedrest for the week, just to be sure there wasn’t anything worse going on.”

Two pairs of eyes were staring at him like he’d grown a second head, then the one that’d been referred to as Grayson took several large steps toward him. Some part of his mind thought now was the time to remember Tim mentioning his older brother’s name was Dick Grayson, so the other must be Damian Wayne. Connecting those pieces distracted him enough, he didn’t realize Dick cut the space between them to nothing. His arms wrapped around Jason harder than they did around Tim, but he didn’t attempt to lift Jason off the ground.

“I can’t believe it. You’re alive.”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

As he shrugged his shoulder, Jason darted his eyes over to Tim, who looked to be enjoying his obvious discomfort a bit too much. “I’m not sure. I don’t remember anything. Bruce found me at a construction site and brought me back here.”

“Well, it’s good to see you again. It hasn’t been the same around here without you. And I’m sure Tim’s happy to have you back. He’s kind of fond of you.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I’ve been responsible for keeping him on bedrest, not that I’m doing a good job of it today.”

“He’ll get over it. He cares too much about you to hold a grudge.” Dick shifted his position from hugging Jason to standing beside him with his arm thrown around his shoulder. “Since you don’t remember anything, feel free to come to me when you’re ready to hear all those embarrassing Tim stories I told you.”

“I can hear you!”

* * *

 

This time Tim entered the Red Hood to find Jason already in the cockpit messing with his gloves for some reason. He looked up from them to send Tim a quick grin, then went back to tugging and pulling at the material. With a roll of his eyes, Tim moved close enough to grab Jason’s hand in his own and surveyed the way the glove clung to his fingers.

“Why are you messing with it? It looks fine.”

“Feels a little tight.”

“They didn’t seem to bother you last week.” Even though he didn’t think the glove was what bothered Jason, Tim slipped it off his hand to stretch out the stiff material. “You can talk to me about what’s worrying you.”

“Your brothers are here.”

“And?”

“And, more of your best friends are here.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“They care about you.”

“I like to think so.”

Jason remained silent as Tim slid the glove back on his hand and fastened it tight enough it’d stay in place. “If something happens to you-”

“We’ll deal with it. We’re a team. You’re the one that reminded me of that. So, if something happens to me or to you, we’ll deal with it together. That being said, the only thing that’s going to happen will be us completing our neutral handshake without any issues. Got that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Get to your station, Ranger. We’ve got work to do.”

After giving Tim a mock salute, Jason went to click his feet into place, then made a sweeping gesture with his arm for Tim to do the same. As he passed by his partner, he gave him a playful shove that didn’t even come close to knocking Jason off balance. Once his own feet were snapped in, he swiped at the display in front of him to check the status of their Jaeger. He let out a satisfied hum at the positive readings, then flicked the information away to clear up his view.

The sound of the communications system activating sent a wave of nerves through him that Tim quickly shook off. “If the two of you are ready, we can get this show on the road.”

“Ready for this, sweetheart?” When Tim glanced over at Jason, the man realized what he said and got a light blush on his cheeks. “I mean…”

“You and your nicknames. It’s like a reflex. I’m ready when you are, Jay.”

“Then let’s do this before I make a bigger fool out of myself.”

“Trust me, you’ve done worst.”

“Once you’re done flirting, they’ll initiate the neural handshake.” While he couldn’t understand why they’d let Bart be in the control room with them, some of the tension in his shoulders relaxed at the sound of a familiar voice. “Awesome. Neural handshake is initiated. Good luck!”

Before either of them could say anything, the beginning of the connection hit them hard. Shared memories flashed between them. Most of them he recognized from Jason’s early childhood, but a couple must’ve been from the two and a half years Jason had been missing. Glimpses of a partially built wall and a rundown apartment that looked empty and cold. Despite trying his best to keep his more traumatic memories out of it, that night was too strong a memory to lock out completely, but he made an extra effort to push through it.

His eyes snapped open to find the screen before him declaring the neural handshake had successfully been completed. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he looked at Jason to find his eyes already on Tim and a soft smile on his face. In tandem, they faced the front of the Jaeger and brought their hands together with one in a fist and the other covering it. After holding that position for a few seconds, they moved their right hand down to their hip to grab their bo staff, then quickly pulled it into a defensive hold in front of them.

“Test complete. Good job, Rangers.”

* * *

 

“Why do we use a bo staff?” While it was slightly difficult to speak as he did pushups with a full-grown person on his back, his curiosity got the better of him. “No one else uses one.”

“It’s my weapon of choice and I taught you how to use it. When they asked us how we wanted the Red Hood outfitted, you suggested the bo staff and I suggested the repulsor canons. You’re fond of guns.”

“What do other people have?”

“Most have missiles, repulsor canons, and some sort of melee. Standard melee is a sword, but there’s some variety. For example, Dick and Damian use eskrima sticks and Bruce, Diana, and Clark have an electrified whip.”

“That sounds cool. We should get one of those.”

The chuckle Tim let out caused him to shift on Jason’s back and make his next pushup more challenging. “Tell Diana that. She’s the one that picked their weapon. I doubt she’d be willing to give it up, but you never know.”

“I think the bo staff and repulsor canons are enough.”

“So do I. Are you almost done?”

“Yes, but you know I would’ve been done sooner if I didn’t have the extra weight.”

“It’s good to push yourself. It builds character.”

“Pretty sure it’s not character I’m building.”

“That muscles are nice too.” A finger poked at a ticklish spot between his ribs that he didn’t know about, leading to him losing control and dropping painfully to the floor. “Would you look at that? All done with training for the day.”

“Not fair.”

“What isn’t?”

“I could’ve done more, but you used your knowledge for evil.”

“Evil is a bit of a stretch. Boredom is more accurate. Plus, you’ve worked out more than enough for one day. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Why do I get the feeling that’s normally my line?”

The weight from his back disappeared, then a hand appeared in front of his face that he took because he knew it’d be a struggle to get up without some help. “I’m not the only stubborn one.”

“I may’ve gone a bit too hard.”

“Shocker. Come with me. I can get an ice bath going for you, then give you a massage after to get out some of those kinks.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

“Don’t try to butter me up like that. This isn’t going to be a common thing. It’s just my way of saying thank you for keeping me company while I was on bedrest. It would’ve been hell without you.”

“I wanted to.” Emotions flashed across Tim’s face so fast he couldn’t decipher them, before returning to a small smile. “I mean it.”

“I know you do. You rarely say something you don’t mean.”

“Tim, what are we doing?”

“I wish I knew the answer.”

“There’s something more here and I’ve already pushed too far once, so I might be making a mistake by-”

“Jason, you don’t know me. Not really.”

The small space between them disappeared as Jason took several steps to close the distance between them. “Knowing you and remembering everything about you is different. I know you’re ambidextrous, but you still prefer to use your left hand. I know you care so much about what we do, you sometimes push yourself and other people too hard. I know you try to hide your stress and anxiety because you don’t want other people to see it and think lesser of you.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Tim-”

“Please, don’t make me talk about this right now. I still don’t know how to feel about this. I thought you were dead, and now you’re back and I’m thrilled about that, but you don’t remember everything we’ve been through. There are things I want to mention, then I hold my tongue because I know it won’t mean anything to you. It’s hard and I know it must be for you too, so I’m sorry if I haven’t been doing enough to help you through this.”

“It’s alright.” Without hesitating, he pulled Tim into a tight hug that he hoped would help the panic beginning to show on his face. “Everything will be fine. We’ll work through it together.”

* * *

 

The sound of the emergency alarms blaring startled Tim out of sleep and had him jumping out of bed before he fully woke from sleep. Without caring what he grabbed, he got dressed in a hurry, then rushed out the door toward the command center. Several Jaeger pilots already dressed for battle ran past him, but he paid them no mind. The person he was looking for would be busy giving orders and strategizing for the battle Tim fully planned on being part of.

As soon as he stepped through the door, his eyes snapped to a person he hadn’t been expecting. “Jason, what’s the status?”

“Couple of Kaijus. Nothing we need to worry about.”

“Is that so?” After crossing his arms over his chest, he turned to Bruce to find him standing stiffly-prepared for a fight. “How many are we talking about? They must be simple.”

“Two.”

“What level are they?”

“Four.”

“How many Jaegers?”

“Three.”

“You’re only sending three? That’s ridiculous. We can easily send four, so Jaegers can be paired off.”

As he stepped around the holographic table, Bruce’s eyes narrowed to near slits. “None of the Jaegers in the last battle are repaired yet and the two of you aren’t cleared for real combat.”

“We’ve done fine in all the simulations! What more is it going to take for you to realize we can handle this? That I can handle this.”

“Fine is not good enough.”

“What is?”

“That’s for me to decide. Now, stand down. I have a mission to oversee.”

Despite wanting to argue, he took a step back from the table and focused on the chatting between command and the pilots. He tried not to tense at the sound of his brothers, Cass, Steph, and Jaime talking command through the situation on the ground. Just as he started to relax, a pained scream sounding over the comms sent his blood pressure skyrocketing. A hand landed on his shoulder to help him calm, but not knowing the source of the scream and the reason for it kept him tense.

“The Blue Beetle is down. I think Jaime is still in there, but he’s a sitting duck. We’re moving in.” While Dick’s voice sounded level, he knew his brother worried greatly for the other pilots. “There’s something strange about this one. It looks like it’s charging up. I’m not-”

Fear shot through him at the sudden cut in connection, causing him to rush over to check the communication systems without thinking about it. “What was that?”

“Based off the readings, the Kaiju released some sort of EMP blast. It took out their systems.”

“What about Batgirl?”

“Only their comms were affected. Their energy core is still analog. They were due for an upgrade this week.”

“It’s a good thing that didn’t happen.” Tim pushed away from the console and turned to look at Bruce. “Our Jaeger is the only other analog we have. Leaving Cass and Steph to defeat two class fours risks their lives and the other pilots stuck out there.”

His father pinched his brow with a sigh, then leaned against the holographic table to reduce some of the distance between them. “Go. Now!”

* * *

 

“Prepare for release. Three, two, one.” His stomach jolted as the Red Hood fell the short distance from the transport helicopter to the water below. “Batgirl is handling the Kaiju that produced the EMP. The second is circling Nightwing. Focus on that one.”

“Roger that.”

Before beginning to move forward, he glanced over to Tim who was too focused on the screen in front of him to notice. Without a single word passing between them, they both began to move forward at a slow pace that gradually built up speed. When they reached the Kaiju circling Nightwing, they slammed into it sending them both under the water. Both hands clamped down on one of the Kaiju’s appendages, then they pushed out of the water.

Once they stood up straight again, they lifted the Kaiju over their head to bring down hard on their raised leg. They heard the sound of the appendage popping out of socket over the waves crashing around them. The infuriated Kaiju struggled in their grasp and got a lucky swipe against their side before they could do anything about it. A pained gasp came from Tim, but neither of them paused in their movement. Their grip adjusted to one on the broke limb and the other on another flailing appendage.

Both let out grunts as they pulled the Kaiju in two different directions. The struggling increased the further away they pulled, until it suddenly stopped. Swirling blue blood stained the water around them as it dripped out of the two halves of the Kaiju. They dropped the body into the water, then started to turn their Jaeger around.

Something heavy slammed into their left side hard enough to send them off balance, but not into the water. While they reached to rip it off, it’s claws dug into the shoulder joint of the Red Hood. Tim screamed in pain as the arm was viciously ripped from the Jaeger and his eyes went slightly glassy. A few memories rushed into his mind in quick session, then abruptly stopped.

“It’ll rip through the haul.” Tim’s voice sounded strained, but the steely determination in his eyes was all Jason needed to keep focused. “Guns or staff.”

“Left shoulder cannon is still functional.”

“Let’s blast it to hell.”

In sync, they rolled their left shoulder forward as they tapped the screen with their right to get it out. As soon as it locked into place, they fired it off at the Kaiju attempting to tear through the chest of the Jaeger. It let out a shriek when the shot landed but didn’t release its hold. They fired off several more as they reached up with their right hand to pull the Kaiju off. The sixth shot caused it to finally let go of them and gave them the chance to retaliated.

After turning several circles, they launched the Kaiju at a cliffside that caved under the force. As they made their way over to the Kaiju, they pulled out the bo staff and set the tip sparking with electricity. When they got close enough, the Kaiju launched out of the water at them, but didn’t get the chance to latch on again. They smacked it out of the air with the staff, then lunged in the direction it fell with the tip. Electricity coursed through the Kaiju, until it wiggled out from under the tip.

Before it could get far, they grabbed it by the neck and slammed it into the cliffside again. With it pinned to rocks, they unloaded the rest of the left cannon into it. When that didn’t keep it from clawing at them, they got out the right one and unloaded that one as well. They were left with the Kaiju from the neck up, while the rest of it sank into the ocean.

The cheers on the comms followed by Bruce telling them to wait there for pick up allowed Jason to finally relax and give attention to his partner. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m fine. My shoulder just aches a little. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“We’ll stop by medical when we get back to be sure.”

“Whatever you say.” Once he was sure Jason was looking, he rolled his eyes fondly at him with his mouth quirked up in a little smile. “I’ll do it if it’ll make you feel better.”

“How kind of you.”

“There’s no need to thank me.”

“Good. I wasn’t planning on it.”

* * *

 

While the doctor poked and prodded at his shoulder, Jason stood off to the side with his eyebrows drawn together in concern. The instant the doctor stepped away to look at the scan she did, he moved to stand in front of Tim. He had a frown on his face that Tim thought completely unnecessary and his arms seemed to be crossed over his chest, so he wouldn’t give into the desire to do his own check. Instead of rolling his eyes like he normally would, he reached out with his right hand.

After staring at it for a few moments, Jason reached out to take the hand gently into one of his larger ones. Tim gave a comforting squeeze, then urged Jason to come a little closer to him. He easily stepped into the offered hug with his head resting against Tim’s shoulder and his arms wrapped around his waist.

“You should check on your sister.”

“I will.”

Tim let out a fond huff, then ran his fingers through Jason’s hair to help relax him. “You can go now. I’m not going to disappear if you aren’t looking at me.”

“It could’ve pulled you out.”

“It didn’t even get into the haul. We were safer than the rest of them. I promise I’m not going to sneak out. Go check on Cass.”

“Sure you wouldn’t.” He could feel Jason’s smile against his shoulder that mirrored the one on his own face. “I’ll check on her as soon as the doc tells us how you’re doing. I’m sure she’ll understand, and Steph is with her.”

“How do you know that?”

“I saw her following the medics taking Cass and she hasn’t left or we would have seen her.”

“That makes me feel a little better. Since you’re determined to wait for me, we can go check on both of them.”

“I like that plan.”

Tim let out a little laugh as he pushed at Jason’s shoulder to get some space between them. His doctor gave them an exhausted smile, then took a seat on the stool next to his bed. She placed the chart in her hands against her knees, so she could look at them without it acting as an obvious barrier between them.

“Thank you for your patience. We’ve had quite the night as I’m sure you both know. After reviewing the scans, I’m happy to say there’s nothing major wrong with your shoulder. The connection between you and the Jaeger caused the nerves of your body to react as though the same thing happened to you. You’ll ache for a few days while your brain and your body work together to understand that your arm is still intact. To help speed things along, I suggest wearing a sling. It’ll keep you from accidentally hurting yourself further and give you a reminder it still exists.”

“If it’s only for a few days, I suppose I can handle wearing a sling.”

She gave him a grateful smile because she undoubtedly knew he had a habit of dodging medical attention or ignoring advice. “Let me get that, so the two of you can get out of here.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s my job.” The doctor took several steps away from the bed, then spun on her heels to give them her attention again. “By the way, your sister is two rooms down. She’s been asking about both of you.”

“We’ll head right over. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

 

Even though his body ached by the time they got to his room, he didn’t immediately open the door. His hand reached for the handle, but he paused before he could so much as touch the damn thing. Jason’s presence behind him felt heavier than normal, probably because his shoulders had dropped the moment they walked out of his sister’s hospital room. The walk from there to here had been completely silent with Jason walking a step behind him.

After a moment of indecision, he spun on his heel to find Jason looking like a lost child with his hands shoved in his pockets and his head tipped down. He left his hand hovering awkwardly in the air much too long, then lurched forward to touch Jason’s shoulder. Blue-grey eyes flicked up enough Jason would be able to see his face but went no further than that. As he moved forward to wrap his arm around Jason’s neck for a hug, he carefully watched for any signs of discomfort.

“She’s going to make a full recovery. There’s no need to worry. Cass is strong, and she has plenty of people to help her out while she needs it.”

“You both got hurt, and I’m perfectly fine.”

“It’s not a contest. Even if it was, I’m pretty sure you’d still be winning.”

The joke fell flat, not even getting a faint smile from Jason. “I don’t want to lose either of you.”

“We don’t get to decide whether we lose someone or not. It’s not easy. It hurts like hell and I don’t think it ever stops, but mourning people before they’re gone just wastes time you could spend enjoying them.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing you need to apologize for.”

“I still feel-”

“Don’t. This conversation won’t get us anywhere. There’s no need to apologize to me. Whatever you’re still feeling is something you need to come to terms with on your own.”

“And what about you?” Jason lifted his head, so he now looked down on Tim instead of up at him. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“When are you going to come to terms with everything? You’re still weary around me. One moment, I think we’re going to be something, then you push me away. It’s hard to find my place in all of this when the person I feel closest to doesn’t know how to fit me in.”

While he wanted to argue and yell, tears prickled at the corners of his eyes and his gut twisted uncomfortably. “One of these days, I’m going to wake up and you’ll be gone again. I never stop grieving for you because you were gone, Jay. I lost you. All of you.”

“But you didn’t. I’m right here.”

“Sometimes, I don’t think your real. I think this is all a really good dream, but at some point, it’ll go wrong or I’ll wake up. Things are almost the way they used to be, which is what I’ve wanted since I lost you. Can’t you see how it seems too good to be true?”

“Tim, sweetheart, you’re crying.” A gentle hand reached up to wipe the tears from one side, then pulled back to show him the glistening finger. “We’re both exhausted. We should talk about this in the morning.”

Before Jason could head for his own room, Tim clamped his hand over his wrist and gave it a soft tug. “Stay, please.”

“Okay.”

* * *

 

A warm weight against his chest wasn’t something he expected to wake up to, but he definitely didn’t mind it. As his initial confusion gave way to memories of the previous night, the temptation to feign sleeping for the rest of the day grew immensely. Despite the fact Tim continued to push him away, something in the back of his mind kept him stubbornly coming back for more. Even in the mere glimpses of Tim he had in the past couple of months, there were hundreds of little things that made him understand why they had been together. The little smirk he got before he said something witty, his fierce loyalty, a determined streak that could rival his own, and immense strength he could never dream of having.

The body against his began to shift away from him, then stilled so suddenly he knew Tim figured out he wasn’t sleeping as peacefully as he pretended to be. With the jig up, he decided to give into the desire to wrap his arm around Tim’s slim waist and urge him back over. While he didn’t pull away any further, Tim didn’t return to his previous position draped across Jason’s chest. At the very least, he could still enjoy the warmth of his body lined up against his side and a head pillowed on his shoulder.

“We should get up.”

“Why?” Sleep caused his voice to come out gruffer than he intended it to, but Tim didn’t stiffen like he’d been offended by his tone. “There aren’t any alarms going off, that means we’re in the clear. Plus, you’re still injured. Perfect excuse for us to sleep in.”

“Just because the Kaiju aren’t destroying the city right now, doesn’t mean there’s not something we can be doing. Babs and Pam are still working on a way to close the Breach to prevent them from coming through.”

“And they want you hanging around their lab while they try to do it?”

“No, but-”

Finally, Jason opened his eyes and turned his head to look directly into crystal blue orbs. “Then there’s no reason we can’t.”

“What are we supposed to do?”

“We could play a game.”

“What kind?”

“Maybe,” As he drew out the words, Jason gently rolled onto his side with Tim’s head resting against his forearm and the other resting on the bed next to Tim. “a question game.”

“Are we back in school?”

“Not those kinds of questions. We’ll ask questions about each other.”

“That sounds childish.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Red, and yours is green.”

“Should’ve known you’d be no fun at this.”

The shrug Tim gave him moved the length of his body along Jason’s side in a slow side that had Jason instinctively moving his hand to hold Tim’s hip. His eyes snapped down to the hand, then returned to looking at him with mixed emotions swimming in them. Slow enough Tim would be able to stop him, he began to move the hand up and down his side beneath the thin shirt he wore. He expected the warmth of his skin and the firmness of his obliques, but the bumps of scars against his hand surprised him for some reason.

“When did you get those?”

“Get what?”

Before passing over them, he traced a finger along some of the raised skin getting a shiver for his troubles. “These. You didn’t have them before.”

The eyes staring at him went wide enough they seemed about ready to pop right out of his head, then he let out a shaky breath. “How did you know that?”

“I didn’t suddenly remember. It’s just… Sometimes I have these moments of feelings.”

“Feelings?”

“Like it felt wrong. It’s not that I remembered how you looked before or had a memory that came to mind. When I touched the scars, something about them seemed wrong. I’m not disgusted by them or pitying you for having them, so it had to be something else. It would make sense they’d feel wrong to me if you didn’t have them before.”

“Why can’t you just remember?” Tears prickled in his eyes and his hands reached out to bunch up the front of his shirt in tight fists. “This would be so much easier if you could just remember!”

The shudder that ran through Tim as the tears began to pour down his face was so violent his hands tugged Jason’s shirt down. To keep his body from accidentally crushing Tim’s smaller one, he moved his weight to his knees on either side of his thighs. With one arm still under his head, he had to use the one he’d been running along his side to wipe away the tears. While he wished he could do something to stop the crying, he knew Tim needed to get it out of his system.

When the tears slowed to a stop, Tim let out a slow breath and released the hold on Jason’s shirt. “Sorry.”

“There’s no reason to apologize.”

“Yes, there is. I shouldn’t be crying to you about this.”

“I wish I could remember everything about us,” Jason ran his hand through Tim’s soft hair, then returned it to it’s previous place upon his hip. “but the fact is I can’t. It doesn’t matter how much we might wish for the memories to come back, that doesn’t mean they ever will. I’m not saying you should forget everything that happened before because you can’t ever do that. There are memories of us you cherish, so I’d never ask that of you. All I ask is for you to give me the chance to prove myself to you again. I can’t promise I’ll be the same as I was before or anything like that, but you’re the best thing in my life and I’d like the chance to experience everything with you.”

“You’ve always had a way with words.”

“Please?”

A hand reached up to cup his jaw, then Tim let out a stuttering breath with his eyes closed. “This could be a terrible decision, but I can’t keep saying no to you. I missed you so much.”

“I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

 

Kissing Jason felt like a warm summer’s day after a long winter spent indoors. He kissed with his entire body. His hands left hot trails along his skin, his chest pressed him just enough into the mattress he felt comfortable, and his lips knew just what to do to drive him wild. They trailed along his jaw and over the part of his shoulder exposed by his loose hanging shirt when they weren’t capturing his in heated kisses. Instead of exploring Jason’s body, he kept his own hands buried in his thick hair and gave tugs of encouragement when Jason did something particularly enjoyable. Even when he did it a bit harshly, Jason would let out a pleased groan in response to his tugging.

The world they had fallen into shattered as a loud pounding on his door distracted them both from what they had been doing. While he was tempted to ignore the obnoxious noise until whoever it was went away, odds were they wouldn’t give up that easily. The person at his door would most likely decide to open the door without him answering just to be sure he wasn’t there. With a sigh, he slipped out from under Jason to open the door and found Damian standing on the other side.

“Can I help you?”

“Father wishes to speak to you.”

“About?”

A huff fell from Damian’s lips that meant he already felt annoyed at the direction of their conversation, but Tim didn’t particularly care since he didn’t want to answer him in the first place. “Gordon and Isley have discovered something about the Kaijus. Father summoned us all to hear their findings, but you and Todd were not at breakfast to hear. Grayson sent me to get you.”

“They found something?”

“That is what I said. Are you becoming hard of hearing?”

“You did what Dick sent you here to do. You can go now. We’ll be there soon.” When Tim made to close the door, Damian stuck his hand out to keep it open. “What now?”

“Do not waste time.”

“We can’t get dressed if you don’t go away.”

“So, Todd is in there with you.”

“Go away. We’re not having this conversation right now. Ten minutes tops. Run along.”

Despite Damian’s hand still resting on the door, Tim forced it shut on Damian’s smug face and turned to find Jason already partially dressed. One of the drawers he shoved all of Jason’s things into was open behind him with the contents in a jumbled mess. After staring at it for much too long, he awkwardly cleared his throat as he finally moved to get his own clothes. He quickly pulled on gear he would normally wear to training, then headed over to the door.

Before he could open the door, a hand caught him around the wrist and pulled him back against a muscular chest. The hand released his wrist in favor of wrapping both arms around his waist in a comforting hold. Jason sprinkled a few kisses against the side of his neck, then tucked his chin into the curve of his neck.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“You just zoned out on me.” The arms around his waist released as Jason moved around him to open the door to his room. “We can talk about it later. They’re waiting on us.”

* * *

 

“The rift they open between our dimension and their own isn’t a one-way passage like we originally hypothesized. With multiple Kaiju passing through during the last invasion the passage stayed open long enough for us to get significantly better readings.” Pamela flicked her finger across the tablet held in her hand, causing a three-dimensional recreation to appear above the table. “As you can see, the Kaiju pass safely from this opening to this one. The only reason they are able to do this is because their DNA allow them to do so.”

“It’s part of the reason they all have the same basic DNA structure, despite many of them looking vastly different from the others. It’s also based on this DNA structure we’re hypothesizing that the Kaiju we have seen are only the workers. They were sent here to determine the viability of the planet. It’s incredibly likely that whoever is sending them is waiting on the other side of the Breach.”

“That is why we suggest attaching a bomb to a freshly killed Kaiju and sending it back down before the passage closes completely. This will allow the bomb to pass through, unlike all of our previous attempts. We’ll need to attach the bomb to the largest Jaeger to maximize damage.”

“Trinity will be responsible for carrying and attaching the bomb to the Kaiju, then throw it into the passage entrance. We’ll need several other Jaegers combat ready to protect the Trinity and their package. Based on the previous invasion, it’s possible that three Kaiju could come from the next rift.”

After clearing the table of the display, Pamela took a step back to stand next to Barbara with her hands clasped behind her back. “We’ll leave the rest of the details up to the Marshal. If you need us, we’ll be putting the finishing touches on the bomb design and timing for this mission.”

Once they were both out of the boardroom, Bruce stepped up to the table and placed his hands flat on the top of it. He looked around the room at the Jaeger pilots and technicians waiting to hear their assignments for the upcoming mission. When his eyes landed on Tim, they softened around the edges the slightest bit, then quickly moved to him. Before continuing to the people next to him, Bruce gave him a little nod that most probably missed. Of course, Tim noticed it and squeezed his hand in response.

“Diana and Clark will be here before the next rift opens, assuming the pattern continues. We will pilot the Trinity for this mission. Since we cannot risk all Jaegers on this mission, we’ll have four come with us. Those four are: Nightwing, Batgirl, Outlaw, and Red Hood. On standby will be Titan and Birds of Prey.” The tension in the room grew to be almost suffocating as Bruce straightened up to his full height. “I don’t need to tell you all this is the chance we’ve been waiting for. We’ve all lost people because of the Kaiju, and we decided to put an end to it. We will put an end to it. This is our chance. We will take it. That clock in the hanger counting down to the next attack will be stopped. It will take teamwork to accomplish, so do what you need to do to prepare. The clock is still running.”

* * *

 

The door shutting behind them sounded like a gunshot going off in the silence of the room that continued for several long moments. While he wanted to say something to break the tension filling the room, he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth. He feared that if he did attempt it, the words would get stuck in his throat and cause him to spiral into a panic attack. So, he squeezed his eyes shut and focused on keeping his breathing, even as he waited for the anxiety to pass.

When a hand landed on his shoulder, his body reacted with a knee jerk reaction of jumping in surprise at the touch. The hand immediately disappeared from his shoulder in response to his reaction, then Jason moved to stand in front of him. Even though he could feel Jason's eyes on him, he kept his staring straight ahead at his chest. He just needed a little longer to get his emotions under his control, then he could deal with whatever Jason had to say.

"Keep breathing, sweetheart. That's it. In and out."

Despite still feeling on edge, he finally raised his eyes to look at Jason as he spoke. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, but I know we need to."

"We can talk about it later."

"Will there be a later?" He let out a shaky breath at the thoughts swirling around in his head, then leaned forward against Jason. "This could really be it. I can hardly remember a time when we didn't live in fear of Kaiju attacks and now... It could all be over."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is, but what will the cost be? There's no way all of us will make it out of this alive, so who will we lose in the process."

"Tim-"

"You know I'm right. There's no way we'll all make it through this. It would take a miracle for that to happen."

"Miracles happen."

"Rarely. You coming back was a miracle. What are the chances of another miracle happening so soon?"

As he let out a soft sigh, Jason dipped his forehead down to rest against Tim's and placed his hands lightly on his hips. "We're going to make it through this. There will be plenty of people watching our back."

"You don't know that. I can't lose my family-any of my family."

"We'll watch out for their back and they'll watch out for ours."

"My dad..."

"He knows what he's doing."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Tim pressed further into Jason body for support, then settled more comfortably against him when Jason wrapped his arms around his waist to keep him up. "If it comes down to it, they sacrifice themselves to put an end to this. They won't hesitate."

"It's their choice to make when the time comes, but it's our job to minimize the chance of them having to make that decision. So, we'll do our job of kicking Kaiju ass. Sound good to you?"

"You act like there's another choice."

"That's the spirit."

"Thank you, Jay."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

* * *

 

The pleasant weight of Tim pressed up against his side with his head resting on his chest felt righter than he ever could've imagined. He slotted just perfectly against him and the steady rise and fall of his chest helped to relax him. While he hadn't noticed it before, it was much easier to fall asleep with Tim there to keep him from tossing and turning. He'd even go as far as to say that Tim managed to calm him without having to do anything other than be in the same room as him. A part of his mind seemed to equate Tim with safety and comfort.

His thoughts were interrupted as Tim began to squirm around, until his head shifted to his shoulder and his legs were tucked under Jason's thigh. Despite the uncomfortable feeling of a bony knee digging into his muscles, all he did to compensate for Tim moving was place a hand on his waist. Tim hummed in response to his hand, which vibrated pleasantly against his side because of their close proximity.

"You should be sleeping."

"So should you."

After letting out a snort, he turned his head to press a quick kiss to the top of Tim's head. "I'm aware."

"Why aren't you?"

"Don't feel tired. What's your excuse?"

"Can't get my mind to shut off."

"What are you thinking about?"

"All the possibilities." The hand resting over his heart twisted the fabric of his shirt up. "All the things that could go wrong."

"There's no use thinking like that. They'll either happen or they won't. Worrying about them happening isn't helping any. In fact, it's keeping you up. Since you can't seem to stop, I think you need a distraction."

"What kind of distraction would you suggest?"

"A few things come to mind."

Before he could make a move, Tim straddled his waist with his elbows on either side of Jason's head, so he could hover over him. "Was this one of them?"

"Maybe. You won't ever know."

"I think I do."

Kissing Tim was enough to send a shiver down his spine but being kissed by Tim could absolutely wreck him. He could imagine few things better than Tim being the one to take charge because he kissed the same way he did everything else. Every kiss was calculated with the intent of making the experience perfect for the both of them and his hands tugged at his hair just hard enough. If he wanted to, Tim could take him apart.

"Now who's the one that needs to stop thinking?"

"You're perfect to me." As expected, Tim went stiff as a board above him with his eyes blown wide. "If we could, I'd stay in this room for the rest of our lives and shut out the outside world. I want to keep you in my arms and spend the day lazing away with you, but I know that's not possible. We're going to put an end to the Kaiju, then we're going to take a vacation to do just that."

"This room has been so empty. I shoved all your things in those drawers like it would help me forget about the person missing, but it never did. It just became this thing I would stare at when I missed you. When you opened it earlier, it was... I want it to stay like this. The two of us."

"I'm not leaving again."

"You don't know that."

"I will do everything in my power to stay right by your side. I promise."

"Promises mean nothing."

"It's all I can give."

The next kiss tasted of salt from the tears that clung to his skin after they parted. "Maybe, it'll be enough this time."

* * *

 

Putting on his armor for what could be the last time felt strange, but that was nothing compared to the anxiety filling his gut. He knew the others probably had jitters as the mission drew closer as well, but the twisting in his stomach went well beyond that. While Jason tried his best to calm his nerves over the few days between the briefing and now, his mind still played through awful scenarios. It didn't help that his father had been too busy preparing during the short time to get in a conversation with him. Even though he felt childish for it, he found it often helped to hear his father say everything would turn out fine.

A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts as he finished buckling up his boots, but it didn't get him moving. Luckily, Jason opened the door for him, then stepped out of the way to reveal his father already suited up. Despite Jason moving for him, he remained just outside the room with his helmet tucked under his arm. His eyes were focused entirely on Tim with an obvious request swirling in them.

"Jason, can you give us a moment?" After agreeing, Jason slipped past Bruce to give them privacy. "Come in."

His father closed the door behind him, then took several steps closer to him to be within arm's reach. "I heard the two of you were together again, but it's good to see it wasn't just rumors. You were always good together."

"Why are you here?"

"To talk to my son."

"For the last time?"

Slowly, his father placed his helmet down on the end of the bed, then placed his hands on Tim's shoulders. "We both know it's a possibility. The Kaiju have plagued us for too long. If this is our chance to stop it, I'll give my life to do so because it means you and your brothers can live in a world that isn't constantly threatened. There's nothing I want more than for the three of you to have a chance of happiness."

"I don't want you go. I don't want to lose you, dad."

"And I don't want to leave you, so we'll both do our best to make sure it doesn't happen. I just want you to know that it won't be your fault if something happens to me. Your happiness is important to me. Do you know how happy I was to see you smile again?"

"Thank you for bringing him back to me. You never stopped looking for him."

"There's nothing I wouldn't do to see you happy. Don't ever forget that."

"I won't."

"Good." To keep the tears from falling, he squeezed his eyes shut as his father pressed a kiss to his forehead like he used to do all the time when he was a child. "I trust you to have our back. Do what you do best."

"I will. Be safe."

"We'll do our best."

"Love you, dad."

"Love you, too, son."

* * *

 

"Hey." Despite how casual he attempted to sound, he could tell that Tim was shaken from the talk with Bruce. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Nothing to be sorry for. They're still working on setting up the Trinity for combat. Last I heard, we've still got some time."

"Good. Do we have the information on when it'll open?"

"They just put it up. Looks like we have about two hours. We'll need to get moving soon if they're going to drop us as close to the Breach as they planned."

The click of Tim's boots locking into place filled the Jaeger, then his screen appeared in the corner of Jason's eye. "I thought they already had the Trinity ready to go. What's taking them so long to get it going?"

"No idea. They might be doing one last check to make sure everything is in order and the bomb is properly attached. The last thing we want is that going off because they didn't bother to make sure they put it on properly."

"Have a little faith in our engineers. They were the ones that made this. If they didn't do their job right, we wouldn't have made it back from our first mission."

"I'll be sure to thank them the next time I see them."

"You should also buy them a fruit basket. I hear they like those." A hand reached out to smack him on the shoulder, until he turned his attention to Tim. "Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I can be. We'll figure out how ready that is once they drop us in."

"Guess we will."

The comm unit in his helmet crackled to life, then Bruce's voice came through it. "This is it, Rangers. We've been waiting for this day to come. It is our job to put an end to the Kaiju, and we will do just that. Everyone has played an important part in keeping them at bay, so you'll all have a role in putting an end to this. Whether in a Jaeger or behind the controls, we are all making a mark on history. Even if we fail today, we set in motion the beginning of the end for the Kaiju. Our time is now. Tonight, we end this-or die trying."

Even in the Jaeger, they could hear the sound of everyone in the base cheering the end of Bruce's speech. He didn't blame them for having so much energy considering what it would mean to put an end to the Kaiju. They would no longer have to fear attacks in the middle of the night or cities being destroyed and people killed. Hope was something they needed.

"Here we go."

"Think we'll see some good action?"

A laugh bubbled out of Tim at his question, something he couldn't help but smile about. "We better. I'd be disappointed if we ended up doing the boring work. I want to take down something good."

"Someone's feeling bloodthirsty today."

"I have to get in the mood for a fight somehow."

"Remind me never to piss you off, sweetheart."

"Now, why would I do that?"

* * *

 

It didn't matter how many times he got dropped from a plane, the impact still caused him to get jostled and bumped around. Getting dropped in water always ended up being the worst because there was no telling what the surface underneath them looked like. There could be a huge dip or an edge that led to an abyss, but they had no way of knowing until they were already dropped. Luckily, they never found themself in a dangerous situation, and this landing was no exception.

The seafloor slightly gave way under their heavy suit, but that ended up being the extent of it. They waited patiently for the other Jaegers to land, then began the long walk to the passage between them and the Kaiju. While he thought the comms would be full of chatter, they were strangely silent as they walked, not even Dick filled the space with his jokes and casual conversation. He hated the tension between them all and had no idea how to keep his anxiety from rising.

"We're almost there. Focus on the mission."

"When did you become the level headed one?"

"No idea." After they boosted over a crack in the seafloor, Jason sent him a ridiculous look he had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at. "Does it make me more or less attractive? Be honest. Communication is key."

"This is a serious mission."

"That means you're obligated to answer my obviously serious question seriously."

"I don't think that's at all what that means."

A frustrated sigh filled his helmet that could only be one person, which meant Jason hadn't changed their comms to personal. "Must you have inappropriate conversations on this line? It is disgusting to hear your poor attempts at flirting with my brother."

"Are you attempting to defend my honor?"

"That would be a fruitless endeavor. You lost that long ago. That does not mean I enjoy hearing the two of you saying such things to each other."

"It's good to know you care, Dami. I'll be sure to embarrass you in front of Jon the next time I get a chance."

Before his brother could respond, an unfamiliar sound distorted through the water reached them. On instinct, his spine stiffened and his hands lifted to a defensive position in anticipation for the fight to come. Without having to look, he knew that Jason had moved into the exact same pose as he had. They continued to move slowly forward with their eyes glued to the motion screening displayed in front of them.

Each step they took without picking up a signal, put him further on edge as he waited for the ambush. The feeling of being watched slowly built up, until a tiny red dot appeared on their scanner much closer than it should have. Something heavy slammed into their side hard enough to send them crashing to the seafloor. They landed hard enough they both got jostled in their place, but it wasn't able to keep them down.

As the Kaiju went to clamp its jaws around their arm, they triggered the boosters on their legs to send them sliding away from it. It let out a furious shriek in response to their sliding away, then began to claw its way toward them. Before it could reach them, they returned to their feet with the bo staff ready to deflect the next attack. On a dime, it twisted its body the opposite direction to trick them into making a wrong move, but they held their ground.

When it moved to snap at their neck, they brought the staff down hard on its left side sending it face first into the seafloor. A plume of loose sand clouded the water obscuring their vision of the Kaiju without the aid of other sensors. They both reached to engage the thermal sensor, but their enemy recovered faster than the system could come online. Teeth clamped down on the lower part of the right leg and gave a vicious tug that yanked them off their feet.

Red Hood would’ve gone down, but a quick burst of the thrusters on their back allowed them to return to a standing position. To prevent it from getting in another attack, they slammed their hands down on the top of its head, then punched where its jaw connected to the rest of the skull. The water prevented them from hearing the sound of the Kaiju’s jaw breaking. Luckily, their cameras provided them enough definition to see the jaw hanging limply and obviously broken. They took advantage of the new weakness by punching the same spot several more times.

A warped shriek erupted from the Kaiju at the same time it flailed its body violently from one side to the other. Unexpectedly, the tail whipped them in the back causing them to stumble to the side and giving the Kaiju time to get free. The Kaiju swiped a set of claws at them that managed to catch their right arm well enough to tear up some of the exterior. They kicked out at the Kaiju to keep it from digging into them, then swung the bo staff at any part they could reach. It landed against the side of its jawed, which caused it to finally become stunned by the immense pain.

While the Kaiju was stunned, they grabbed the top and bottom of the mouth, then pulled them in opposite directions. The side of the jaw not already broken easily gave way under the pressure without the aid of the other to keep it stable. They weren’t able to do more than complete dislocate the jaw because the Kaiju wiggled desperately out of their grasp. Instead of attempting to attack them again, the Kaiju turned to flee.

Before it could get far, they grabbed hold of its tail to pull it back to them. To keep it from wriggling out of their grasp again, they placed a foot where the neck and back met. The pressure of their Jaeger pinned the Kaiju to the seafloor allowing them to bend down to grab either side of its head. Quickly, they rotated their hands, until the Kaiju’s neck broke. After checking to make sure it died, they let the body fall to the ocean floor.

“What’s everyone else’s status?”

“There’s a problem with the Trinity.” While the person at command tried to sound calm, it was easy to tell that they were stressed out. “They won’t be able to make it to the Breach in time to deliver the bomb.”

“Red Hood is nuclear.” Tim turned to look at Jason and found him with his eyes already locked on him. “We have a dead Kaiju.”

“This might be a one-way trip.”

“At least we’ll go together.”

“How romantic. Let’s do this.”

* * *

 

The trek to the opening of the Breach felt both longer and shorter than he expected it to be. The concern of being attacked by something they wouldn’t have time to fight made time drag, while the fear of what came next sped it up. They dragged the body along behind them like the worlds worst sled that caught on bumps and divots in the seafloor. Despite slowing them down, they reached the passage with just enough time to make the jump.

“Ready for this?”

A shaky sigh sounded through the comms, then Tim’s voice filtered through as strong as ever. “Yes. Down the rabbit hole we go.”

“I’m with you, Alice.”

“Then let’s do this, Hatter.”

They hoisted the Kaiju up into their arms as if it were nothing more than a gigantic teddy bear for them to hug close to their chest. With their way of transport secured, they took the last few steps they needed to be on the edge of the Breach. It glowed bright oranges and reds in the darkness of the bottom of the ocean.

“Geronimo.”

He wasn’t sure what he expected traveling through an interdimensional passage to be like, but the complete silence was off-putting. Despite knowing he should be able to, he couldn’t even hear himself breathing in the confines of his helmet. For all he knew, he could’ve been screaming the entire time they were in the Breach and didn’t hear it the entire time. All he could do was watch the screen in front of him going crazy, until they finally popped out the other side.

While he wanted to see what the world of the Kaiju looked like, the lack of response from Tim regarding their current situation took all his attention. With surprising difficulty, he turned his head to find Tim hanging limply from the upper body stabilizer. He wanted to reach out to shake Tim awake, but he was too far away to do more than lightly shove him. The only useful thing he could reach from his current position was the screen in front of him blaring all kinds of warning about being out of range and losing stability.

After taking a slow breath to calm his rapidly beating heart, he reached out a shaking hand to initiate the self-destruct. A warning with a timer appeared on the screen in the upper corner, so he could still access the other systems. He pulled up the two escape pods to find one of them with the life support systems damaged. Without hesitating, he quickly completed the process to send Tim up in the fully functional pod, then pressed the launch button.

The hiss of the pod being jettisoned from the top of the Red Hood filled the cabin followed by the ding of a successful launch. With Tim safely on his way back to earth, he could focus on getting himself setup with an escape pod on a timer. His entire body went tense as he confirmed a timer that would send him off mere seconds before the entire Jaeger exploded. The clamps holding in his boots released, allowing him to be lifted into the pod above him.

One last deep breath was all he had time to do before the pod left the Jaeger and his world went completely black.

* * *

 

After blinking several times to adjust his eyes to the bright light, he opened them to find himself staring at a bright blue sky. He slowly took in the shining sun above him and the gentle rock of whatever he was resting on. With some difficulty, he wiggled his arms free from where they were pinned to his side, then pulled his body into a sitting position. He removed the helmet from his head, so he could get a better look at his surroundings.

Most of what his eyes could see was just more of the water he found surrounding the escape pod Jason must have put him in to get him out. That had to mean that Jason would be in a similar pod somewhere close to where he ended up floating on the ocean. When he finally caught sight of Jason’s pod, he was confused to find it wasn’t opened the way his had already been upon waking. Instead of waiting around for the evac that was alerted when their pods surfaced, he managed to stand up, so he could dive into the water.

Pulling himself on top of Jason’s pod proved to be more difficult than he originally anticipated, but he finally straddled the slippery surface. He trailed both hands along the upper sides of the pod, until he found the manual latches to open it up. It still took a little brute forcing to get it all the way off and sent it splashing into the water. Without the top of the pod between them, he could easily see how pale and lifeless Jason looked.

He searched frantically for a pulse by pressing his fingers along the side of his neck, then let out a frustrated growl when he couldn’t feel it through his thick gloves. After quickly tossing them away, he returned to searching for a pulse. His heart rate ticked up when he still couldn’t feel the steady beat of Jason’s heart against his fingers. Not knowing what else to do, he was going to start CPR in a desperate attempt to resuscitate him, but a sudden jolt nearly caused him to fall off.

“Jason?”

In response, Jason released a heavy groan and blinked up at him with those gorgeous blue-green eyes. “That was unpleasant. Did you know these things shock you?”

“Thank goodness they do. What happened?”

“You got knocked out on the way down.”

“And?”

“And I blew them to hell.” The cocky smile on Jason’s face matched the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “They were no match for us, sweetheart.”

“We won. We finally did it. They’re gone.”

“Looks that way.”

“Wow. I can’t…” A watery laugh spilled from his mouth as he leaned down to capture Jason’s lips in a slightly wet kiss because of tears slipping down his face. “We did it. We won.”

“Yeah, we did. We do make a pretty kick ass team.”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

“Well, I can’t say no to that.”

“Then stop talking.”

* * *

 

For some reason, he didn’t expect to be met with thunderous applause the instant the two of them stepped off the rescue helicopter. It seemed like every person in the base was cramped into the docking bay, but none of them appeared to care about the close quarters. They were cramped even tighter together than necessary to allow them a lane to walk down to reach the platform that used to house the Red Hood. Several clapped him on the back as he walked by or raised their hand for a high five from him.

When they reached the platform, the other Rangers that went on the mission reached down to help them up. Both of Tim’s brothers wrapped him up in a tight hug that Damian pretended to want no part of. After they broke apart, Dick placed his heads on both sides of Tim’s face, then dipped down to press a quick kiss to the top of his head. As he moved away from his brother, Dick sent him a look that he couldn’t quite decipher before they were being shepherded to their designated spot. He rested his hand lightly against Tim’s lower back as they stared out at the crowd.

A hush fell over the crowd, but he couldn’t understand why until Barbara rolled onto the platform with Pamela by her side. They shook the hand of each Ranger they passed and congratulated them on a successful mission. The shake that Barbara gave him included a little squeeze on the end of it that had him glancing over at Tim. It hadn’t escaped his notice that the pilots of Trinity weren’t anywhere to be seen.

Instead of shaking his hand and moving on, Barbara took both of Tim’s hands in her own and gave him a sad smile. “We haven’t been able to locate Trinity. We’re going to keep trying.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry, Tim. Bruce was a great man.”

“And an even better father.”

The two of them laughed softly under their breath, then tightened the grip they had on each other. “He was. He was also prepared for this possibility. He has been for a while actually. He chose his successor well.”

“Me?”

“Who else would he trust to defeat the Kaiju if something happened to him? Luckily, you won’t have to worry about getting all those grey hairs like he did, but there is one thing still left to do.”

“Right.” After taking a shuddering breath, Tim took several steps forward to address the crowd of people watching him. “Today we lost good Rangers, but their sacrifice was not in vain. We accomplished our mission. There will be no more fear of Kaiju attacks. No fear of cities being leveled, and people killed. After all these years, we accomplished the goal we strived tirelessly to accomplish. From now on, this day will be celebrated as the end of our fear and to remember those we lost along the way. Today is the end. Stop the clock.”

The click of the clock being shut off was drowned out by the eruption of the crowd cheering the end of the Kaiju. With no end to the celebration in sight, Tim left his spot at the front of the platform to stand in front of him. He wrapped his arms loosely around Tim’s waist, which Tim responded to by wrapping his own around his neck to play with the hairs at the base of his neck.

“So, what’s the plan now, marshal?”

“Well, I’ve got a few years’ worth of vacation days saved up. I’d like to visit home again. What do you think?”

“Guess we better pack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos always greatly appreciated. You can find me on Tumblr ([SociallyAwkwardFoxWriter](http://sociallyawkwardfoxwriter.tumblr.com/)).


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